


a universe made of tiny stories

by LailaLiquorice



Series: I'll hide you in my poetry { parrlyn oneshots } [10]
Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Comfort, Established Relationship, F/F, Family Fluff, Fluff, Sleep Deprivation, Supportive Girlfriend, This is so soft, anne looks after her sleepy cathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-23 02:54:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20884958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LailaLiquorice/pseuds/LailaLiquorice
Summary: After an incredible day for Cathy that's both long and long awaited, Anne's there to look after her when everything feels a little much.





	a universe made of tiny stories

There was one obvious way in which publishing her first book in modern times was different to publishing her first book in Tudor times. That was the fact that Cathy didn’t have to fear that negative reviews would possibly lead to herself getting killed again, and even the worst modern-day repercussions were preferable to a trip to the gallows. That was a significant weight off her mind.

But there were other little ways in which the entire process had been so different this time around. Nowadays she had to get an editor, make the book actually look nice, put thought into when it was going to be released, organise signings, and generally get a lot of other people’s approval for something she’d mostly done by herself beforehand. It was certainly an interesting process and for the most part she didn’t mind it at all. Though she’d have been lying if she said it wasn’t absolutely exhausting.

And, as she waved off the final person at the London signing event and rested her head on her arms, that had never been more true.

“Hey,” said the soft voice that had been in the background all day, and Cathy looked up as Anne placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “The organiser said we’re good to leave as soon as you’re done. How are you doing?”

Cathy nodded, leaning her head to rest her cheek on the back of Anne’s hand. “Tired but happy. I think that went really well,” she said, the weary smile on her face emphasising how much she meant it.

“Oh it definitely did, no need to worry about that. Everyone was grinning on their way out, the organiser is thrilled, you’ve done amazing babe.”

Somehow, the conformation from the person who’s opinion she cared the most about allowed Cathy to lose the tension that she’d been holding all day. “Thanks love,” she said, giving her girlfriend a grateful smile before standing up and collecting her pens off the table. She’d brought a handful of marker pens from the stationary shop that morning before the signing and Anne had teased her for how many she’d brought, but now she waved the only two remaining pens at Anne with a pointed grin on her face.

Anne gave an exaggerated grin, swiping the pens from Cathy’s hand and tucking them into her bag for her. “Alright, alright, I’ll trust the author on stationary matters next time,” she laughed.

_Author_, Cathy thought, her smiling fading as her focus drifted at the sound of that word. She was an author again, and she could call herself that without having to fear. She was still lost in that thought as she picked up her bag and walked around the back of her chair, only vaguely registering in the back of her mind that she’d tripped on the chair leg and was falling forwards until-

“Woah!” Anne said as she surged forwards to catch her, wrapping her arms tight around Cathy’s waist as she sagged into her arms. “I’ve got you hun, you’re alright.”

Cathy hummed a tired ‘thank you’ into Anne’s collar as she let herself relax in her tight embrace. “I’m alright,” she echoed drowsily, “just tired, that’s all.” It wasn’t unusual for her to be knocked out at the end of a long day, but now she was getting to the point of exhaustion where her grip on consciousness was wavering and she just felt too groggy to keep going.

“I’m not surprised,” Anne murmured quietly, rocking Cathy in her arms for a moment before setting her back on her feet. “Come on, let’s get you home,” she said, offering Cathy a smile and waiting for her to return it albeit sleepily before she was leading her towards the door.

After exchanging a few quick words with the organiser before they left the bookstore, they walked hand in hand towards the nearest Underground station as the start of their thankfully short journey home. Cathy didn’t say a lot while on the train, too tired and overstimulated by making smalltalk with so many people, but Anne seemed to understand that she didn’t have the energy for conversation. They just sat side by side, Cathy watching the stations whizz by in an exhausted daze while Anne gently stroked her thumb over her knuckles in silence.

The house was quiet when they got home even though there were no shows that day, so Cathy presumed that the rest of the queens had gone out for something. That was confirmed when she saw a note on the fridge in Jane’s clumsy handwriting that said they were going out to get dinner, meaning they would have a little while before the house was full again. Knowing that Cathy would need every minute of that time to rest before she could talk to people again, Anne steered her straight into the living room once she had her coffee and sat her down on the sofa.

Cathy sighed with relief as she sunk into the sofa cushions, taking a moment to close her eyes before taking a long sip from her mug. “That’s better,” she murmured, toeing off her shoes and stretching her tired feet.

She got a second’s warning to lift up her mug before Anne practically threw herself onto the sofa beside Cathy; her habit of doing exactly that when they were either sat in bed or on the sofa meant that Cathy was accustomed to needing to protect her coffee from getting spilled. “Good to be home?” Anne asked, holding out her arm for Cathy to lean into her side.

“Yes,” Cathy said as she curled up in the crook of Anne’s arm. “I’m very happy, I didn’t expect there to be so many people.”

Anne’s laughter jostled her head from where Cathy had been resting it on her chest, and she glanced into her girlfriend’s eyes with a confused look. “Of course there were so many people. They love your work. And they love you too, though obvs not as much as I do.”

Cathy smirked a little at that, leaning up to kiss her briefly before getting comfy again. “Did many people talk to you?” she asked. It was a curious question she’d been meaning to ask, since Anne hadn’t kept her presence at the event quiet and Cathy knew that she’d be easily recognisable by the people who were coming to see her.

“A few. Not many though, lots of people waved but I think most of them knew they were here to see you. I kept getting the organiser to give me jobs so I wouldn’t be standing around,” Anne explained.

“That’s good,” Cathy nodded drearily, pausing as a yawn interrupted her before she could add “I don’t know why I’m so tired though.”

Anne tutted in a manner so similar to Jane’s mother hen-ing that Cathy couldn’t help but chuckle quietly. “You’ve had a crazy long day and I know you haven’t been sleeping well,” she pointed out gently, and Cathy’s expression dropped at the reminder. It was true that the last few nights before her book’s release had been difficult, since she’d either been too anxious or excited to drift off or when she had managed to sleep her dreams had been filled with disapproving faces which had her waking up in a panic.

But Anne had always been there. And for all Cathy’s words, she could never quite express to her how much that meant.

“I’ll be ok now,” Cathy said, putting her mug down on the coffee table before fully nestling into Anne’s side with one hand resting on her stomach. She didn’t stop her heavy eyelids from drooping closed as Anne pulled the pins from her hairstyle and unravelled her curls with gentle fingers. Too many restless nights and one exciting day meant that Anne’s arms around her were all she needed to lull her towards sleep.

She only had her eyes shut for a few minutes though before the sound of the door opening roused her back into semi-wakefulness, smiling as the joyful sounds of the other queens and the smell of Chinese takeaway drifted into the living room. “Come on then you, dinner then bed,” Anne said, giving Cathy’s cheek a gentle poke which only made her smile wider.

“But I’m comfy,” Cathy whined childishly, enjoying a selfish moment while it was still just the two of them.

Anne didn’t reply, but just adjusted her grip to hold Cathy bridal style in her arms before carefully getting to her feet. Cathy only tightened her arms around Anne as she was carried into the kitchen, trusting her completely to carry her safely.

“Is Cathy ok?” sounded Kat’s voice when they approached the table, where Jane and Aragon were setting places while she and Anna laid out the food.

Cathy nodded as she was carefully deposited in her chair, giving Anne a brief kiss on the cheek before she could stand back up properly. “I’m fine, I was just tired and didn’t want to get up. This is a lovely surprise though, thank you.”

Jane and Aragon exchanged a knowing smile. “We wanted you to have something nice to come home to, so Anne texted us when you were done so we’d time it about right,” Aragon said.

“You’ve done so well love, you deserve a treat and some rest,” added Jane, reaching over to give Cathy’s arm a brief squeeze as she smiled proudly.

A cough from Anna made them all glance over to where she was sat with chopsticks in hand. “Yes yes much love to you Cathy we’re all very proud, but if we’re done with the speeches can we tuck in please? Dunno about you lot but I’m starving!” she retorted teasingly, though the fond smile on her face was no lesser than anyone else’s.

They all laughed as they started to eat, Cathy keeping her knees rested against Anne’s as she gave the others a run-down of how her day had gone. It had been a daunting prospect, a hopeful attempt to live up to the name she’d created for herself way back when and sung about during their show every night. But, unlike that first time, now she knew that she’d never have to face it alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Something very soft to end a while off because moving house is hard y’all. I've still been writing over on tumblr but honestly just forgetting to upload things here!
> 
> It was about time I wrote some parrlyn again, and I had an anon request for some soft parrlyn that when the idea came to me I couldn’t help but shift this one to the top of the to do list. I love it when anne gets to look after cathy because I feel it’s often written as the other way round, and the family scene at the end made me very happy <3
> 
> I'm lailaliquorice on tumblr :)


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